Question for non-Americans

[LadyShea]

I have always wanted to visit Africa, but the movies and our US State Department make it seem like there is no African country where we can travel safely. They make it sound like most every part of Africa is just ready to explode into civil war. I started to realize that it simply must be exaggerated.

I was reading various consular information sheets (http://travel.state.gov/travel/cis_pa_tw/cis/cis_1765.html) published by our illustrious government, I started to wonder "What would similar publications say about traveling to the US?"

So, for you non Americans, does your government have similar "fact sheets" for travel abroad, or websites describing places where you can travel safely or is there maybe a general consensus of the population? Do you fear travel to the US as I have been made to fear travel to any part of Africa? With our high crime rate, etc. I wouldn't be surprised if you were warned against it.

Just curious.

ETA: According to the US governemtn apparently it isn't safe to travel anywhere, ever. Even the UK page had some dire warnings.

[Watser?]

Hmmm, you could take some of the info about crime to mean that your life will be in danger in certain areas anyway.
They also make it sound as if a terror attack is a distinct possibility. And the security measures are almost as bad: ' Funny remarks or showing you're annoyed with security measures is strictly advised against. A Dutch 'attitude' against authority figures like customs or police is not appreciated and may work against you.'

[fragment]

Good thread. Travel warnings are a good idea, but I suspect they err too far on the side of caution. That might be for the best, given that some people are strikingly uninformed about other countries or frighteningly blasé about the risks.

I just found this site (http://safetravel.govt.nz/) that the NZ govt runs. They say there is some risk (http://safetravel.govt.nz/countries/unitedstates.shtml) in travel to the US, citing terrorist threats to planes, which is real I suppose but seems like a pretty small possibility given the number of people flying in and out of the US.

As for Africa, I'm sure there's parts of southern and eastern Africa which aren't too dangerous. Malawi, perhaps? I'm hoping to be over that way myself sometime in the next few years. It's worth remembering that even within a risky country, there might be some parts that are relatively safe. Up-to-date guide books are good places to check for detailed information on travel safety.

[LadyShea]

Do you have a link to wherever you got that quote Watser? That's exactly what I was looking for.

Thanks Fragment, NZ's is similar to the US pages in layout and purpose.

[fragment]

We probably copied the style. And a great deal of the content too.

[Watser?]

Do you have a link to wherever you got that quote Watser? That's exactly what I was looking for.

Well I do (Nederlands Ministerie van Buitenlandse Zaken - Reisadvies Verenigde Staten van Amerika (http://www.minbuza.nl/nl/reizenlanden/reisadviezen,Verenigde-Staten.html)), but it is in Dutch, I translated it myself.

Here is the entry on Serious Crime:

'You are advised never to leave your hotel door open, not to wear expensive jewelry in the streets and not to enter neighborhoods that are known as unsafe. Ask about this in your hotel. Do not sleep in your car. Do not leave valuables in your car. Stay on the main roads and well-lit parking lots.

Unsafe areas
Some parts of major cities are known to be unsafe. Ask about this in your hotel.'

[Stormlight]

Our government takes the easy route. Something like "Don't bloody bother us with your holidays and check the links below." They link to various foreign sites like the US Department of State, the German Auswärtiges Amt or the Dutch Ministerie van Buitenladse Zaken.

Lazy bastards. :recline:

[Watser?]

tsk

Oh, here's another thing they mention here: 'In the US it is not allowed to drink alcohol when you are younger than 21.'

It doesn't mention how you would be punished if you drink alcohol after all or say give your 18 year old son a beer (beer is allowed from the age of 16 here, spirits from the age of 18).

[Dingfod]

It's probably more dangerous for any Luxembourger to travel anywhere rather than stay right there in Luxembourg.

[Stormlight]

It's probably more dangerous for any Luxembourger to travel anywhere rather than stay right there in Luxembourg.

Yeah, but how would the world know how awesome we really are? :chuckle:

[Ari]

I was just in Italy and the government 'fact' sheet makes a bigger deal over terrorist attack, because Italy supports US actions in Afganistan and Iraq*, than the fact drivers in rome are willing to flatten any pedestrian that doesn't get out of their way.

*Apparently they booted their Prime Minister in 06 partly because he supported the war when the majority was against it.

[JoeP]

I'm sure New York and London are more dangerous than Johannesburg, at least in some neighbourhoods. I do get the impression that armed shoot-anyway hijackings are genuinely more common here.

Without going to the extent of finding an SA site advising on the safety of other countries (unless you say pretty please with a cat picture), I'd say of the neighbouring countries, Swaziland, Botswana and Namibia are about as safe as any 3rd-world country; Mozambique and Lesotho have dodgy times but are generally OK. Zimbabwe is about as safe as Iraq.

Further north, the Congo is not as bad as it was but significantly dangerous, and Rwanda and Burundi and other countries bordering its east are dangerous for the same reason. Avoid Ethiopia. Take extra care in Kenya (there's a well-developed tourist industry there so you should be OK on the beaten paths). Malawi's probably OK.

I'm not sure about Uganda or Tanzania or other E African countries.

No real feeling for West Africa except Nigeria: only go there if you have to, and even then not.

[Miisa]

"What would similar publications say about traveling to the US?"
We don't have factsheets like that, but just the other day the paper printed a map of the world (from some international organisation - if anyone can find it online it would be appreciated) that had each country coloured according to its level of political stability. Northern Europe, Australia and Canada were the "coolest", the US and most of Europe made the category less stable than that. Still cool, but not the most stable. So we can't be all that bad. :P


ETA: I found the map myself: Failed States Index (http://www.fundforpeace.org/web/index.php?option=com_content&task=view&id=229&Itemid=366).

[wildernesse]

I would think Tanzania would be pretty much ok--UGA was always sending students over there for study abroad semesters, or so it seemed.

[roastelk]

trnsport canda sys no major concersns...but it also says....

"Criminal occurrences are frequent in many US cities, but are generally concentrated in areas that travellers are unlikely to visit. Canadians, however, should remain vigilant and alert to their surroundings. Full cooperation is recommended when stopped by police. Street crime can spill over into commercial, hotel, and entertainment areas. Riots occasionally occur; these are usually confined to the poorer districts of major cities, but the violence can spread to central commercial and hotel areas"...


The same article also slams the US medical system...says to get good medical insurnce before entering the country...there is also some mention of paranoid american anti drug laws and extreem penalties...ie.. to even be carfull with prescription drugs, and some over the counter meds like "tylenol with Codeine"

and it mentions..that visitors entering the US should expect to not have the same rights as US citzens, and that detainment for no reason for an unspecified time is a possibilty.

[TomJoe]

I know as a government worker, if I travel abroad, I'm to notify the US consulate whenever I enter another country for business purposes. Is this something that citizens traveling abroad should do also? I've never gone anywhere save Canada and Mexico, and never did in either of those two countries.

[Qingdai]

The US certainly don't tell the average citizen to contact a consulate when traveling abroad, for business or otherwise. I can only imagine they'd be annoyed if we did.
I have visited US consulates and embassies abroad for various reasons.

[Dingfod]

I don't think so, TomJoe. When I went to Calgary, Alberta on business there was no notification made. Come to think of it, maybe I should have notified someone because I was dealing with computer systems that control interstate pipelines. Oh, and I transported a Toshiba laptop back that contained confidential industry information without declaring it to anyone (no, I didn't purchase it, I borrowed it). Maybe it would be different if travelling to non-neighboring foreign countries.

[BigBlue2]

Aussie site (http://www.smartraveller.gov.au/zw-cgi/view/Advice/United_States_of_America) run by Department of Foreign Affairs. The US is at the lowest risk level, along with most of Western Europe, Canada etc. Basically, our foreign affairs department has nothing against travel to the US, provided you use a bit of common bloody sense.

[wildernesse]

I know as a government worker, if I travel abroad, I'm to notify the US consulate whenever I enter another country for business purposes. Is this something that citizens traveling abroad should do also? I've never gone anywhere save Canada and Mexico, and never did in either of those two countries.

My cousin signs up for some kind of State Department alert to be sent to his cell when he is traveling (he travels constantly for work), and I'm not sure if he has to register with the consulate or not to do that. You probably can register everywhere, but if you are going somewhere relatively safe it probably doesn't matter. If you want to be evacuated from, say, Lebanon, then maybe you should register.

[Pendaric]

I wouldn't feel any less safe in pretty much any first world country than I do in England. All big cities have good and bad areas, regardless of country. I certainly wouldn't think twice about visiting the US for safety reasons.

As for Africa, my impression is that Egypt is fairly stable given the amount of tourist stuff around the Pyramids and the Nile, and that parts of South Africa would be safe (although parts would be distinctly unsafe as well).

I feel no real inclination to visit the less prosperous parts of the world. That probably says all kinds of stuff about what a shallow, materialistic person I am, but meh, who cares?

[Watser?]

http://picayune.uclick.com/comics/trall/2007/trall070709.gif